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Observing from indoors?


Girders

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Ok, I'm a bad stargazer.  Even for a beginner.  I know I shouldn't do it for loads of reasons including temperature variation, double glazed glass etc etc.  But last night I did.  And it was pretty much exactly the same as all those nights I'd spent out in the cold...

Now I do have a good excuse.  I've got a really stinking cold so there was just no way I was heading out into the freezing Glasgow night at 2:30 am even though the same stinking cold had woken me up and I could see Jupiter nice and clear in the sky.   As my RDF battery had recently run out I thought I'd pop downstairs and set the scope up on the dining table and view through the double glazed patio doors and use it as an opportunity to replace the battery and re-align the finder.  

And my views of Jupiter were almost as good as I've ever had before.  OK, so the banding wasn't clear - but it never has been.  The planet was a crisp circle with the moons clearly visible around it.  And I'm pretty sure I'd have got a view of the bands if I'd had the time to settle into it before my 4 year old also woke up needing cuddles.

Now I'm sure if you have a big scope or are interested in DSOs etc then observing from indoors will be hugely unsatisfactory, but with my little Heritage 114p it was very comparable with "the real thing" and keeping cosy inside was a huge bonus.  Of course I'll be back out in the cold the first chance I get, but if similar circumstances arise again I'll definitely be giving it another go from inside.

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You're not alone! i point my Lunt out my window in winter often, which i keep spotless, and i believe temperature variations will not matter, unless you actually open the window and warn air rushes out.

i often enjoy great views of the sun through my window, the detail sometimes surprises me, summers are short here, i do what i have to. For night time observing it may be different though, especially DSO's I'd think you won't stand a chance, but if planetary works for you then hey, go for it!

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I get great images of the Moon through the double-glazing when the Moon is relatively low down so that I'm looking through the minimum of glass thickness.

When the Moon is high, the image isn't as good because of the extra thickness of glass involved.

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I have done a bit of through the glass and out of the open window observing in the past. And you can sometimes get reasonable results on certain targets. But when you are after the best results you can, then you do realise that the double glazing and heat from the house do have an effect and hold back the quality of the scope and eyepiece.

Hey , if it works for you then go for it as its better to do some observing than none at all. Just make sure those windows are kept clean ☺

 

 

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Folk often exaggerate how detrimental it will be. The temperature differential effects are actually worse when you view through an open window as there you have lots of turbulent air. Viewing through closed windows actually lessens the effect and gives clearer views. If its an opportunity to get some observation in then why not, lets face we get precious little time given our weather.

Jim

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The reason that I'm so hooked on astronomy was when my now late brother while on holiday in Wales just simple pointed his nature spotter scope through the window of our holiday home and showed me Saturn as simple as that.

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Cleaned windows is great, but one of the goal of amateur astronomy is to have the least amount of glass layers between the observed target and the observer.
Every layer of glass will add some scattering of light, and the possibility of deformations!
But if it works for you is what counts!

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2 hours ago, VNA said:

Cleaned windows is great, but one of the goal of amateur astronomy is to have the least amount of glass layers between the observed target and the observer.
Every layer of glass will add some scattering of light, and the possibility of deformations!
But if it works for you is what counts!

At my age one of my goals when observing is increasingly to stay warm and comfortable. :)

Jim

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On 07/04/2018 at 18:42, Philip R said:

Just don't observe from the kitchen. If you do and you're feeling thirsty or hungry... just remember this... don't open the fridge:evil6:

Solution:

 

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Nothing wrong with observing how you see fit to do it at all.

The best view of Orion was through the double glazing late one night when back troubles stopped me from working, let alone observing, the view was stunning and has since had me look from inside on a number of evenings.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...

I sometimes use my solar scope through the patio doors too - at least to establish if anything interesting is happening on the sun and if it's worth setting up outside. Interestingly one door introduces far more distortions than the other. Luck of the draw with the glass I guess. 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

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